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These are my contributions to Mitp. I have now more or less completed all four creatures, and I'm no longer considering this project a work in progress (though I'll be doing some tidying up and adding of examples). Please vote whether you think any or all of these creatures should be in MitP, and please comment as to why or why not, as this will be helpful in creating later creatures. Polls are disabled, so write your vote in your post. I must also warn anyone who is easily scared or disgusted to read on, as the creatures are quite horrifying by D&D standards. :smallsmile: So without further ado, I give you... The Nameless!

There are things in this word that even though they should not exist, even though they cannot exist, still exist. They are by force of will alone, by an unquenchable thirst for being. But because of what they are, or rather what they are not, they can never be truly alive, and they hate this with all of their hollow soul. They are the Nameless.

Being alive, existing is the greatest gift anyone can hope for. Some people consider their life a curse while others embrace it, but however they view it, they were all some of the few things that gets to be. The fabric between planes, where nothing can truly exist, one can find the spirits of that which never was, and those who never were.
This is as close to nothingness as you can get, but even so, in very rare occurrences, there forms a sort of consciousness from the void. It hungers for nothing else than existing; claiming by force that which was never given to it. Usually this semi-consciousness will fade away, as there is normally no way for it to gain any more of a n existence. But in some rare cases, when the fabric between planes is weakened, that which never existed will seep into our world, and seek to become alive.

The air feels cold all of a sudden, and the world seems grey and lifeless. Something is not as it should be.

When powerful magical energy is unleashed, the laws of nature are sometimes subdued, and the barriers that keep the planes of existence apart are weakened. In some such cases it will allow for that which does not belong in our world to leak in. Nameless spirits are such entities, existing by their own will alone. Nameless spirits are diminutive warps in the fabric of reality, invisible to the naked eye, although their unnatural presence can be felt on the body.
Nameless spirits exist without having a soul or real consciousness, and instinctively they hunger to acquire these things. They drift around randomly until they find a creature with a strong soul, who they will attempt to possess in order to start their transformation into something resembling a living.

COMBAT
Nameless spirits never actually fight, but mindlessly attempt to possess creatures with strong souls. They very rarely get into combat, as they are naturally invisible and very difficult to kill.

Possess (Su): A nameless spirit can possess the heart of any creature that has a soul. If the nameless spirit succeeds in a touch-attack, the creature must make a will save (DC 16) to avoid being possessed. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected by the nameless spirits possession for 24 hours. If the creature fails its save, it will retain its free will, but contracts weeping soul (see below), and carries the nameless spirit with it in it's heart.

Lifesense (Su): A nameless spirit notices and locates living creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability. It can also sense whether the creature has a strong soul (High charisma).

Magical Nature (Su) The existence of a nameless spirit is inherently magical, and it can thus be dispelled as if it was a spell. Any spell that dispels magic also works as a dismissal spell of the same spell level as the dispelling spell. Banishing a nameless spirit destroys it utterly. A nameless spirit will also be destroyed within an antimagic-field (no save).
In addition, a nameless spirit can be located by the means of Detect magic or similar spells.

Natural invisibility (Ex): A nameless spirit is more of a warp in the fabric of the planes than a physical being, and thus cannot be seen by the naked eye, not even with spells that normally detect invisibility. True seeing will however reveal the nameless spirit as a small, shimmering orb. It can also be located by casting Detect evil or Detect magic.

Unnatural Aura (Su): Animals, whether wild or domesticated, can sense the unnatural presence of a nameless spirit at a distance of 30ft. They will not willingly approach nearer than that, and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they remain within that range.

*) Successful saves do not allow the character to recover. Neither can magical healing. The only way to cure someone infected with weeping soul is to banish the nameless spirit inside. This can be done either with spells such as Dismissal, or Dispel magic and similar spells (See magical nature above).

**) Saves are will-saves, not fortitude-saves.

***) If an infected creature’s charisma score reaches 0, it dies. Its heart has then been transformed into a nameless heartworm (see below). When the heartworm senses that there are no living creatures nearby (using lifesense), it burrows out of the creatures skin, and escapes. The heartworm has stolen the creature’s soul, and it cannot be raised or resurrected unless the nameless spirit within the heartworm is destroyed.
A wish, miracle or true resurrection spell has a 50% chance of restoring the character to life, check once. If the check fails, the creature cannot be brought back by mortal means. If it succeeds, the creature is brought back to life, and the nameless spirit possessing its soul is destroyed.

A creature affected with weeping soul will in the early stages show little sign of disease other than a decreased lust for life, and will lapse into a deep depression. In later stages this tendency becomes so strong that the creature will see no point in doing anything, and will refrain from doing anything other than sleeping, including eating and drinking. At the last stages, the creature loses all contact with the outside world, falling into a nightmarish dreamworld before dying of a heart-attack when their charisma reaches 0.
A creature affected by weeping soul also gains the unnatural aura trait (see nameless soul above) as a supernatural ability as long as the disease lasts.

This horrible, bloated cross between a maggot and a leech is coated with a thick transparent slime. Strange, organic holes cover its body, and it somehow resembles the twisted remains of a human heart.

Nameless heartworms are the result of a nameless spirit (see above) possessing and killing a creature. It is actually the heart of the previously possessed creature, and though it is now flesh-coloured, there is a clear resemblance as holes cover the body where previously veins would connect. It possesses the mouth of a leech, riddled with hundreds of tiny, needle-sharp teeth, and is coated by thick, transparent glue that allows it to traverse walls and ceilings.
Heartworms are a large step closer for a nameless spirit in becoming a true mortal. It has the beginnings of a consciousness, and the stolen soul of a living creature. It now but needs the blood of other living creatures to begin the next step in its evolution.

COMBAT
Nameless heartworms are slow and physically weak, and thus prefer to ambush their prey. A common tactic is to hang in the roof of a building or cave, and wait for a lone creature with a soul to pass underneath and dropping down on them, paralyzing them with its bite and draining its blood.

Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by a heartworms bite-attack must succeed on a DC 16 fortitude save, or be paralysed for 1d4+1 minutes. Elves have immunity to this paralysis. The save DC is wisdom-based.

Attach (Ex): A nameless heartworm that hits with its bite attack sticks itself onto the creature with its glue. An attached heartworm can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached heartworm through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the creature.

Blood drain (Ex): A nameless heartworm drains blood for one point of constitution damage each round it remains attached. When the heartworm has drained the blood of one medium-sized or larger creature, two small creature or four tiny or larger creatures, it gains a Hit Dice. The creatures drained must have a soul, or the heartworm will just vomit up the blood.

Despair (Su): The sight of a nameless heartworm is terrifying as it is, but in addition it produces a supernatural fear in anyone who looks at it due to its unnatural nature. Anyone looking at a heartworm must succeed in a will-save (DC 16), or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. Whether the save is successful or not, that creature cannot be affected by the heartworm's despair again for 24 hours. The save DC is wisdom-based. This ability is constantly active, and the heartworm usually uses the time it buys it to attach itself to a creature (if it is alone), or flee (if there are several creatures).

Glue (Ex): Heartworms are covered in a thick glue that allows them to crawl on walls and ceilings as if it was affected by a spider climb spell, albeit only at a speed of 5 ft.

Host (Ex): Heartworms are the host bodies of nameless spirits. If the heartworm is killed, the nameless spirit is released from it, but doesn't die. If the heartworm was killed by creatures with a soul, the nameless soul will often try to possess one of them immediately after the host body is destroyed, thus starting the process anew.

Lifesense (Su): A nameless heartworm notices and locates living creatures within 120 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability. It can also sense whether the creature has a strong soul (High charisma).

Magical Nature (Su) The existence of the nameless spirit inside the heartworm is inherently magical, and it can thus be dispelled as if it was a spell. Any spell that dispels magic also works as a dismissal spell of the same spell level as the dispelling spell. Banishing a nameless spirit destroys it utterly. The nameless spirit inside the heartworm will also be destroyed within an antimagic-field (no save). If the nameless spirit inside a heartworm dies, the heartworm dies as well.
In addition, a heartworm can be located by the means of Detect magic or similar spells.

Unnatural Aura (Su): Animals, whether wild or domesticated, can sense the unnatural presence of a nameless heartworm at a distance of 30ft. They will not willingly approach nearer than that, and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they remain within that range.

Cocoon (Ex): When the heartworm has drained enough blood to have 4 HD, it will find a suitably hidden place, and spin a large, fleshy cocoon. After 1d4+7 days, the cocoon will rupture, and a nameless horror (see below) is born.

This awful abomination has the shape of a humanoid, but lacks any distinguishing features such as eyes, ears and hair. Its skin seems more like dry wax than actual skin, and in some places it seems to have crumbled and fallen off.

Nameless horrors are the result of heartworm metamorphosis. It has roughly the shape of a combination of the creatures the nameless spirit has possessed and drained of blood so far. If, for instance, the nameless spirit originally possessed a human in its spirit-shape, and then drained two halflings of blood in its heartworm-shape, the nameless horror's shape will be a cross between a human's and a halfling's.
The strangest thing about a new nameless horror is its complete lack of features. It has no sense organs, hair, nails or pores, almost resembling a living mannequin. Also, though it can't be seen on the outside, nameless horrors lack any sort of internal organs. It is more like the blueprint of a creature then an actual one, and the whole of its body is composed of a dry, waxy flesh. The muscles of a nameless horror are likewise dry and crumbling, which causes the horror to move in a slow, limping fashion.
Nameless horrors are the final step in a nameless spirit's path to becoming a real, living creature, but completing the process is long and cumbersome. The horror needs to steal the souls and organs of several sentient creatures to become a nameless deceiver.

COMBAT
Nameless horrors prey on the defenceless and alone, and usually try to avoid combat with enemies that can fight back. With its ability to sense all life within 240ft, this is rarely an issue. A nameless horror will try to sneak up on lone creatures when they sleep, paralyse them, and drain them of life with the small, toothed holes they have in the palms of their hands.

Despair (Su): Anyone looking at a nameless horror must succeed in a will-save (DC 19), or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. Whether the save is successful or not, that creature cannot be affected by the horror's despaire again for 24 hours. The save DC is wisdom-based. This ability is constantly active.

Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by a nameless horror's slam-attack must succeed on a DC 19 fortitude save, or be paralysed for 1d4+1 minutes. Elves have immunity to this paralysis. The save DC is wisdom-based.

Improved grab (Ex): To use this ability, a nameless horror must hit a creature of its own size or smaller with a slam-attack. It can then attempt to grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Energy drain (Su): Every round a creature with a soul is grappling with a nameless horror, they gain one negative level. The DC is 10 for the fortitude save to remove the negative level. The save DC is Charisma-based. If a creature reaches level 0 due to the energy drain, it dies and the horror gains a stolen feature (See below). The feature is stolen from the corpse, and it will look on the corpse as if it was born without it. The horror has stolen the creature’s soul, and it cannot be raised or resurrected unless the nameless spirit within the horror is destroyed.
A wish, miracle or true resurrection spell has a 50% chance of restoring the creature to life, check once. If the check fails, the creature cannot be brought back by mortal means. If it succeeds, the creature is brought back to life, and the nameless spirit possessing its soul is destroyed.

Single actions only (Ex): Nameless horrors have poor reflexes and can perforn only a move action or an attack action each round. A horror can move up to its speed and attack in the same round, but only if it attempts a charge.

Possessed construct (Ex): A nameless horror is essentially a construct possessed by a nameless spirit. As such it gains some of the traits associated with constructs. It gains immunity to poison, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects and necromancy effect. It also gains +20 Hit Points for being a medium construct. It does not gain immunity to mind-affecting effects, however, as these are affecting the spirit within.

Lifesense (Su): A nameless horror notices and locates living creatures within 240 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability. It can also sense whether the creature has a strong soul (High charisma).

Magical Nature (Su) The existence of a nameless spirit inside a nameless horror is inherently magical, and it can thus be dispelled as if it was a spell. Any spell that dispels magic also works as a dismissal spell of the same spell level as the dispelling spell. Banishing a nameless spirit destroys it utterly. The nameless spirit inside the heartworm will also be destroyed within an antimagic-field (no save). If the nameless spirit inside a nameless horror dies, the horror goes into a mindless frenzy (see below)
In addition, a nameless horror can be located by the means of Detect magic or similar spells.

Mindless frenzy (Ex) If the nameless spirit leaves the body of a nameless horror, either voluntarily or not, the horror goes into a mindless frenzy, the maddened spirits of the possessed creatures taking control. Its type changes to Construct, giving it immunity to mind-affecting spells and 8 additional Hit Points. Its intelligence drops to "-", and it fights madly, attacking any living creatures it can sense. It loses both its improved grab and energy drain abilities, but retains all other qualities.

Unnatural Aura (Su): Animals, whether wild or domesticated, can sense the unnatural presence of a nameless horror at a distance of 30ft. They will not willingly approach nearer than that, and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they remain within that range.

Stolen Features (Su): When a nameless horror kills a creature using its energy drain, it will steal one of the creatures features. This will cause the nameless horror to gain or lose qualities as noted below, as well as the obvious benefits (sight, hearing etc.). In addition, each stolen feature confers a +1 bonus to the horror's intelligence and charisma-scores, as it steals the feelings and memories of the victim (Provided the target has higher intelligence and charisma-scores than the horror). It also gains a +2 circumstance-bonus to Disguise-checks to disguise itself as the creatures it steals features from for each feature stolen.
The features gained will resemble those stolen. For instance, if the horror steals the ears of an elf, it will have elven ears. When the horror has stolen all of the six different features, it will use its consume (see below) ability to complete the transformation into a nameless deceiver.

Gaze of despair (Su): The gaze of the nameless horror causes a mind-numbing fear in anyone that meets it. Anyone looking in a nameless horrors eyes must succeed in a will-save (DC 19), or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4+1 rounds. Whether the save is successful or not, that creature cannot be affected by the horror's gaze of despair again for 24 hours. The save DC is wisdom-based. This ability is only active when the horror wishes it.

Unnatural howl (Su): A nameless horror that has a mouth can emit a horrifying howl, gruesome enough to rob a creature of some of its soul. Anyone within 200 ft of a horror who can hear it howl, must succeed in a will save (DC 19) or take one point of permanent Charisma-damage. Whether the save is successful or not, that creature cannot be affected by the horror's unnatural howl again for 24 hours. The save DC is wisdom-based. A creature who's Charisma has been drained in this fashion will lapse into a mild depression until it is restored back to normal.

Consume (Su) A nameless horrors who has acquired all six features (see above), still has no internal organs, and no true soul. To complete its metamorphosis, the nameless must complete a horrifying ritual called consuming.
When the nameless horror shall consume a creature, it paralyzes it as before, but instead of draining the creature’s energy, the nameless horror then proceeds to eating the internal organs of the paralyzed creature. This is done in an intricate and horrible fashion to keep the creature alive for as long as possible (and thus keeping the organs fresh), finishing with the heart and brain. The creature takes one point of permanent constitution damage per round during this process. Of the victim there is nothing left but an empty skin. The nameless has made the organs its own, and does now have both a consciousness and a soul of sorts, created from the patchwork of the souls of the creatures it has killed to become what it sought to become: A nameless deceiver.

Deceiver, Nameless (Template)
A nameless deceiver is the final result of a nameless soul's long journey to become truly alive. The appearance of a nameless deceiver varies greatly; as its appearance is determined by the creatures it has exploited to reach this final form, especially the first and the last one. Because of this, nameless deceiver will tend to look like somewhat androgynous if it half-breeds, unless it has somehow managed to choose victims of the same race and gender. The only other physical features of a nameless deceiver are the toothed holes in its palms, which the deceiver will try to keep hidden at all costs.
A nameless deceiver's soul is like its body, a patchwork of all the different souls it has consumed. This is however enough to trick the laws of the planes into believing it is, and has always been, a real, living being. The nameless deceiver has access to all the memories and knowledge of the souls it has consumed, and will therefore always be highly intelligent and skilled. The maddened spirits inside the deceiver are trapped inside it, seeing what it sees, feeling what it feels, but unable to move as much as a muscle.
Even though a nameless deceiver has a soul of sorts, it possesses few of the personality traits commonly shared by intelligent creatures. It has no empathy, and feels no remorse for actions that would leave lesser beings scarred for life. For a nameless deceiver, life exists only to be exploited, and they are manipulative in nature, psychopaths by design.

SAMPLE NAMELESS DECEIVER
The high inquisitor grins gleefully as he slowly removes the left eye of his prisoner, looking impervious to the screams of agony. Among the high priests he is known as "the demon", as no one believes a man can do what he does, without a sign of remorse, and still remain his humanity. They don't complain, though. As long as they don't have to do the dirty work.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g267/Monokkel/inquisitor2.jpg
Example will be added

CREATING A NAMELESS DECEIVER
"Nameless deceiver" is a template that can be applied to any creature that has a soul. If the deceiver has stolen the souls of creatures which are relatively similar in build and abilities, apply this template to the creature it originally possessed to get the most fitting stats. If the creatures have very different abilities, you might have to homebrew a crossbreed creature first.
A nameless deceiver uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here:

Size and Type: The creature retains its type. By creating a patchwork soul, the deceiver has tricked the laws of the planes into believing it is not an outsider. The creature also retains its size.

Special Attacks: A nameless deceiver retains all the special attacks of the base creature (except those that are divine in nature), and gains the ones described below. Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 deceiver's HD + deceiver's Cha modifier.

Gaze of despair (Su): If the nameless deceiver so chooses, its gaze can cause a mind-numbing fear in anyone that meets it. Anyone looking in a nameless deceiver's eyes must succeed in a will-save, or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4+1 rounds. Whether the save is successful or not, that creature cannot be affected by the deceiver's gaze of despair again for 24 hours.

Paralysis (Ex): As a touch-attack a nameless deceiver may attempt to paralyze an opponent. The victim must succeed on a fortitude save, or be paralysed for 1d4+1 minutes. Elves have immunity to this paralysis.

Improved grab (Ex): To use this ability, the deceiver must hit a creature of its own size or smaller with a touch-attack (this could be its paralysis attack). It can then attempt to grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Energy drain (Su): Every round a creature with a soul is grappling with a nameless deceiver, the deceiver can choose to bestow one negative level upon it, using the tiny mouths on its palms. Each negative level bestowed gives the deceiver 5 temporary Hit Points. If a creature reaches level 0 due to the energy drain, it dies and the deceiver gains a temporary bonus of +2 to all its mental stats. The deceiver cannot keep the soul within itself more than 24 hours, though, as its metamorphosis is already completed.
Within those 24 hours the creature cannot be raised or resurrected unless the nameless spirit within the deceiver is destroyed. A wish, miracle or true resurrection spell has a 50% chance of restoring the creature to life, check once. If the check fails, the creature cannot be brought back by mortal means that day. If it succeeds, the creature is brought back to life, and the nameless deceiver loses the temporary bonus to his mental abilities.

Unnatural howl (Su): A nameless deceiver can emit a horrifying howl, gruesome enough to rob a creature of some of its soul. Anyone within 200 ft of a deceiver, who can hear it howl, must succeed in a will-save or take one point of permanent Charisma-damage. Whether the save is successful or not, that creature cannot be affected by the deceiver's unnatural howl again for 24 hours. The save DC is wisdom-based. A creature who's Charisma has been drained in this fashion will lapse into a mild depression until it is restored back to normal.

Special Qualities: A nameless deceiver retains all the special qualities of the base creature (except those that are divine in nature), and gains the ones described below.

Alter Self (Sp): Three times per day, a nameless deceiver can use the spell Alter Self as a sorcerer of the same level as the deceiver's Hit Dice, but only to change into a creature who's soul the deceiver possesses.

Immortal soul (Su): If a nameless deceiver is killed, its soul does not pass beond the veil, as the gods can see through its disguise of patchwork souls. Instead, it remains on the material plane as a nameless spirit (see above). However, this spirit retains the mental ability-scores of the nameless deceiver. If the nameless spirit manages through possession and blood drain in heartworm form (see above), and to cocoon state, it will hatch as a fully grown nameless deceiver, and not a nameless horror, and regain all its class levels.

Lifesense (Su): A nameless deceiver notices and locates living creatures within 240 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability. It can also sense whether the creature has a strong soul (High charisma).

Stolen Memory: A nameless deceiver possesses the souls of people from all walks in life, and has stolen their memories. Because of this, a nameless deceiver is considered to have four ranks put in all common skills (DM's decision), and has percentage chance from 1-99% (DM's decision) to have four ranks in any unusual skills. If it is specifically known the souls of which creatures the nameless deceiver possesses, use the ranks in the skills these creatures had instead of rolling randomly.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +8, Wis +4 (minimum 16), Cha +6. A nameless deceiver does not possess the mental blocks a creature normally has that hinder it in using its strength and guile to its full potential. The deceiver also has access to the thoughts and memories of several souls, and will therefore be far more intelligent, wise and charismatic than the average creature.

Feats: Nameless deceivers gains the Iron Will feat.

Environment: Any (usually same as base creature).

Organization: Same as base creature.

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2.

Alignment: Always neutral evil.

Advancement: By character class.

Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +6

NAMELESS DECEIVER CHARACTERS
Deceivers are always evil, which causes characters of certain classes to lose some class abilities, as noted in Chapter 3 of the Players Handbook. In addition, decievers cannot use divine abilities, as the gods recognise their unnatural existence (exceptions may be taken for some evil gods, at DM's decision).

I hope that you enjoyed the read, and that you have decided you have decided whether or not you think any of the creatures should be in MitP (Include your vote in your post). All comments are welcome :smallsmile:

BisectedBrioche

2007-06-16, 06:53 PM

Very creepy. More info on the final form is needed though.

Ceres

2007-06-16, 07:20 PM

^^ That is not the final form (there will be at least four in total), and it is a work in progress. I just need feedback on the two first ones. I'll be adding the later forms soon, but it might take a day or two, so don't wait for me to finish the others to comment (or vote :smallsmile: )

Poppatomus

2007-06-16, 07:47 PM

Waiting with baited breath. Great Atmosphere so far. (man MitP is going to be a dark book.)

Athelian

2007-06-16, 11:29 PM

Holy...

Very, Veeeeery Creepy.

Definitely approve. The picture of the Horror is enough to give one chills. I don't even want to know what the fourth form does...

...

Okay, yes I do.

Icewalker

2007-06-17, 12:59 AM

Wow.

This is awesome. Gotta make the rest of these. A very creepy and disturbing progression.

Is this book gonna need a warning, albeit milder than BoVD? I mean we have quite a bit of dark and horrifying stuff in here. The wombwoes made it in, didn't they? Those are scary.

So yeah, Mitp vote: yes, all the way.

Ceres

2007-06-17, 11:51 AM

Thanks for all the positive feedback :smallsmile:

Small update today. Almost completed the nameless horror, and have done some improvements on the other two. Comments are welcome.

puppyavenger

2007-06-17, 12:11 PM

Mitp vote yes

Ceres

2007-06-17, 02:07 PM

Nameless horror completed. Now only one creature remains: The nameless deceiver It might take some time before it is completed, so comments and votes on the other three while I'm working on it are, as always, appreciated. :smallsmile:

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2007-06-17, 03:40 PM

Man, MitP is ging to be a REALLY dark book. This, my Manequins, tenens, and Bonekissed, and the hatemongerer guys. Probably much more.

Ceres

2007-06-17, 08:47 PM

I've finally created all four creatures. Some tidying up will probably be done, and I'll have to add an example on the last form, but all in all it's pretty much complete.

Now I'm just looking forward to seeing your votes and comments. Please notify me if you find any bugs, oddities or things you find unbalanced.

Cheers! :smallbiggrin:

Poppatomus

2007-06-18, 08:50 PM

MitP vote: Yes

Excellent work as usual Ceres. Would you mind if I, or someone else for that matter, took a crack at making a "light side" version of the monster. Somethign with a similar mechanic but on the opposite end. I feel like something like that needs to be done before MitP becomes so dark that it collapses into a singularity (yes I know that's not how it woks) and I think this would be a cool mechanic and cool fluff to try and mirror to good.

Ceres

2007-06-18, 09:15 PM

Hmmm, I must disagree with you there. MitP collapsing into a quantum singlularity is quite viable according to modern physics :smallbiggrin:

That aside, I'd be honoured that you would base a creature on my work. I admire your homebrews, and I'm certain you'd do a great job.

Just give me some credit for the original idea, and PM me when its done :smallsmile:

Spiryt

2007-06-19, 10:05 AM

Brrrrr.....
This is kinda scary :smalleek:
And so coplex and damn interesting that ik can only say:
MitP Vote: YES

However i have some doubts:

Attach (Ex): A nameless heartworm that hits with its bite attack sticks itself onto the creature with its glue. An attached heartworm can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached heartworm through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the creature.

Blood drain (Ex): A nameless heartworm drains blood for one point of constitution damage each round it remains attached. When the heartworm has drained the blood of one medium-sized or larger creature, two small creature or four tiny or larger creatures, it gains a Hit Dice. The creatures drained must have a soul, or the heartworm will just vomit up the blood.

Drain blood... You mean ALL blood? you know it's dimunitive, how much blood can it drain?
But yeah I know it's magic and all. But anyway one constitution pere round is very fast, he IS dimunitive after all.
It looks like surprising attack is quit deadly for not very hard humanoid(around 4-5th level), dc 16 is not so easy.
And what when it bites but not paralyze? Is it easily noticable so can be quickly killed or is it worst tick? I supose that
losing blood in such rate is noticable but what with bite itself?

Determining that you have Weeping soul soul remains high The planes knowledge i suspect? There are probably some forms of acting to avoid death before its too late (heavy depression)

Energy drain (Su): Every round a creature with a soul is grappling with a nameless horror, they gain one negative level. The DC is 10 for the fortitude save to remove the negative level. The save DC is Charisma-based. If a creature reaches level 0 due to the energy drain, it dies and the horror gains a stolen feature (See below). The feature is stolen from the corpse, and it will look on the corpse as if it was born without it. The horror has stolen the creature’s soul, and it cannot be raised or resurrected unless the nameless spirit within the horror is destroyed.

DC 10 is preaty easy on the other hand, but when you are paralyzed 2-5 minutes, you will probably loose so many levels even due to natural 1s, that you won't avoid being hit/grappled even if you survive...

And Consume...

It's totally not your fault that D&D do not have any rules for consuming, but still consuming is too fast IMO and loosing "only" point of Con/round due to being eaten so fast is little too small thing. And armors, for example medium and heavier (but better lights too, armors are durable by definition:smallwink: after all), they will surely interrupt consumption, and since there are no reasons why not to even sleep in light armor, this will be kinda hard to consume somebody.
Definetly not many humanoids wear armors all time/at all of course.

OK this is all damn niggling, but when developing such complex rules, doubts will be :smallbiggrin:

BisectedBrioche

2007-06-19, 10:32 AM

Combine that with my A levels and that might just keep me up at night.

MitP Vote: Yes

stolenchariot

2007-06-19, 10:53 AM

MITP vote: Yes

stolenchariot

2007-06-19, 11:00 AM

MITP vote: Yes

Ceres

2007-06-19, 08:53 PM

@ Spiryt: Thanks for the constructive criticism. I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities :smallsmile:

Brrrrr.....
Drain blood... You mean ALL blood? you know it's dimunitive, how much blood can it drain?

It never intended the creature to drain all the blood of a creature. At most it can drink about ten litres (from two average humans), but I do not believe it possible for a leech to drain a creature completely of blood, so I'm thinking it would be around six litres. This is quite a lot for a diminutive creature, I agree, which is why I noted in the heartworm's advancement that a 4 HD heartworm is of tiny, and not diminutive, size. It will, of course, be very bloated at this point. I'll consider clarifying this, and please tell me if you still feel it is unrealistic.

But yeah I know it's magic and all. But anyway one constitution pere round is very fast, he IS diminutive after all.

Well, a dire weasel drains 1d4 constitution a round, and its not built for blood draining the way a cross-breed between a heart and a leech is. It is medium-sized, though, so I guess the leech is still a tad quick. I'll have to thank it mostly to the fact that I'd like to keep the timescale of the blood drain within the timescale of a D&D combat.

It looks like surprising attack is quit deadly for not very hard humanoid(around 4-5th level), dc 16 is not so easy.

I never was very good at balance, and I made the DC that high to ensure that heartworms actually had a real hope of making it to becoming a horror. If the DC was lower, the paralysis not working would be quite common, and if the paralysis doesn't work, a heartworm is in fact quite boned. It is slow and squishy, and if its paralysis failed more than 1/4 of the time on a commoner, its likelihood to survive would sink drastically. All I can say to my defence is that balance was never what I focused on. I'll consider changing it if I get more cries of outrage :smallsmile:

And what when it bites but not paralyze? Is it easily noticable so can be quickly killed or is it worst tick? I supose that
losing blood in such rate is noticable but what with bite itself?

Well, it is at least the size of a frog (a normal leech would be 'fine'), and I suspect having that kind of weight hanging on your body would alert most people, and its jaw would probably pack quite a bite. Also, as you say, blood drain of this magnitude would be quite noticeable.

Determining that you have Weeping soul soul remains high The planes knowledge i suspect? There are probably some forms of acting to avoid death before its too late (heavy depression)

I forgot to include a paragraph on how to identify/remove it *slaps forehead*. Thanks for the heads up. I'll add that in, but not today. Getting late.

DC 10 is preaty easy on the other hand, but when you are paralyzed 2-5 minutes, you will probably loose so many levels even due to natural 1s, that you won't avoid being hit/grappled even if you survive...

Hmm, energy drain was a rule I was a bit unclear on. I thought level drain allowed no save, and the save was just to see if the level would remain drained at the end of the day? Am I mistaken here? I don't want to include a mechanic that depends on natural 1s to work. I'll need to read up on energy drain...

And Consume...

It's totally not your fault that D&D do not have any rules for consuming, but still consuming is too fast IMO and loosing "only" point of Con/round due to being eaten so fast is little too small thing. And armors, for example medium and heavier (but better lights too, armors are durable by definition:smallwink: after all), they will surely interrupt consumption, and since there are no reasons why not to even sleep in light armor, this will be kinda hard to consume somebody.
Definetly not many humanoids wear armors all time/at all of course.

Ah, well the constitution damage is more of a timer for how long time it takes for a character being consumed to die, not the time it takes for a horror to eat all of his/her organs. I see that including the "keeping alive as long as possible" bit might lead one to such conclusions. I suspect the consuming would take quite a bit longer, but that it would take about one minute (Con 10) to die from it. Also, it is true that this ability doesn't take possibilities such as armour into consideration. I am to blame for always envisioning some poor, filthy peasant when picturing the victim. I'll consider expanding this rule soon.

Ceres

2007-06-19, 08:55 PM

Oh, and by the way I'd like to include a link to the video that inspired me to make this creature. It's quite creepy as you can imagine :smallsmile:

Ladies and gentlemen. I give you the cat with hands (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq3EsyotORM).

mport2004

2007-06-19, 09:10 PM

Wow i will never look at cats the same way :smalleek:

Call Me Siggy

2007-06-19, 09:18 PM

MitP:http://209.85.48.11/9082/156/emo/Michael_jackson_bad_1_copy.jpg

Matthew

2007-06-21, 09:46 PM

Good stuff, Ceres. It's hard to take it all in at once, this being the first time I have looked at this Thread. I will get back to you with specific commentry.